Tagged With fines

Police will be cracking down on motorists in select states and territories during the Australia Day holiday period. Double demerits will be meted out for all speeding, seatbelt and mobile phone offenses. Here are the details.

Parking in the city can cost a lot of money, especially if you’re doing it five days a week. Not all urban centres have great on-street parking, but for those that do, there is a relatively straightforward way to get around those parking fees and you only need a scanner and some image manipulation software.

Predicting the future is near impossible -- but that doesn‘t stop us all from having a red hot go. Human beings have been predicting the future since the beginning of history and the results range from the hilarious to the downright uncanny.

One thing all future predictions have in common: they‘re rooted in our current understanding of how the world works. It‘s difficult to escape that mindset. We have no idea how technology will evolve, so our ideas are connected to the technology of today.

Dispute It is a free legal chat bot for motorists that has been designed to answer that age-old question: "is this fine worth challenging in court?" The app automatically compares the details of your case with scenarios where a review could be considered. It even provides sample wording and templates for your appeal and advice on what to do next.

Dear Lifehacker, I live in the USA. I was driving in Australia last Autumn and got four tickets in the course of one day from highway cameras equalling $1000 in fines. I can't afford to pay this, so I haven't. Is there any recourse that the AU government can take against me back in the USA?

If you haven't got around to completing the Australian Census yet, you need to do it right now. From September 23, census holdouts will start to receive less-than-friendly visits from the ABS. If you don't have a sufficient excuse for not submiting the form, you could face penalties of up to $180 per day. If you've forgotten your Census login code, are concerned about privacy or have no idea what's going on, here's what you need to know.

Dear Lifehacker, I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and had a recommended page which was by Census Australia. I started going through the comments to see what people were saying and was astonished to see multiple responses by the ABS talking about a $180 fine if we don't complete the Census. Is this true? Can they really fine us for refusing to divulge every bit of information we have about ourselves? What are my legal rights here?

Dear Lifehacker, my husband recently received a final notice from SDRO for an offence from five years ago for parking his motorbike in his residential area for longer than allowed. He didn't receive any notice on the spot and moved house soon afterward (he updated his address on the RTA website.) He never received any notice whatsoever, until now. Because it was a final notice he was no longer eligible to contest it in court.

As everyone knows, it is illegal to park your vehicle across a residential driveway -- but what if it's your driveway? There are numerous circumstances where parking across your driveway is more convenient than pulling inside it; from quickly popping inside the house to dropping off another family member. If the driveway belongs to you and nobody else is blocked in, it should be legal. Right?

Dear Lifehacker, I was recently disqualified from driving for six months and haven't driven my car since. The other day, the police rocked up to my house out of the blue, handed me a fine for unlicensed driving and confiscated my plates for seven days. I stood in front of my plates and demanded they show me proof, but they just threatened to lock me up if I didn't stand aside. Is this allowed?

Dear Lifehacker, It was recently reported in the news that a highway patrolman was caught writing fake speeding tickets to meet his monthly quota. Is this practice widespread in the Australian police force? If so, what's to stop people getting slugged with unfair fines on quiet months?

Dear Lifehacker, I received an infringement from the police for not stopping at a Give Way sign which I didn't notice was there. However, I believe another involved driver was at fault. When I attempted to turn right, the other car wasn't there. The only reason they did an emergency stop was because they failed to notice me on the road. The police said I failed to stop and gave me a ticket anyway. Do you think I have a chance to win the appeal?

Depending on who you ask, bicycles are either bona fide vehicles that deserve equal road rights, or a colossal pain in the arse that should be relegated to the footpath. Here's some news that is sure to rile up people in the second camp: police in South Australia have started fining motorists who pass cyclists too closely. Under the new laws, a gap of one metre or less can result in a $347 fine and the loss of two demerit points. We're keen to read your thoughts.

To paraphrase those old road safety ads, if you text and drive, you're a bloody idiot. Thankfully, the punishment for this crime is about to be doubled in NSW. During this year's holiday period, anyone caught using their phone behind the wheel in NSW will receive six demerit points on their licence -- up from the current penalty of three points. This means you will effectively lose half your full licence in one fell swoop. Hope that Facebook status update was worth it.

Dear Lifehacker, Last night, I was driving home at 3am on a provisional licence. As I entered my driveway the police pulled up and started grilling me about why I was driving outside of the P plate curfew. I have an exemption for work which I immediately showed to them. They subsequently couldn't fine me for driving after hours, but then they noticed my back P plate had fallen down (it fell down as I went over the bump in my driveway). So they fined me for that instead. Was just wondering if what they did was allowed, coming onto my property and all that?

Dear Lifehacker, I received a fine for driving while my vehicle's rego was suspended, of which I had no idea. I moved houses and the letter was returned to sender (because my old housemate is a tool). This happened a day or two after my address changed. Should I have to pay this fine? I think I'm in the right here as I didn't knowingly break any rules. If I'd known my rego was suspended I wouldn't have been driving.

Hey Lifehacker, On a recent visit to a hotel with a mate, I decided to shift his car as a prank. I started his car and moved it six spaces over in the same car park. As I pulled in, a police car pulled up behind me, checked my licence and issued a fine as it was expired. Is this really an offence given I never left the car park? Might I be able to challenge the fine on that basis?

Hi Lifehacker, I just received a 3-point speeding fine after being caught by a camera going 14kmh over the speed limit. The 80 suddenly changes to 70 at this area and has a lot of traffic, so it's easy to miss the sign even when concentrating. If it's a roadside camera, is it possible to challenge the fine if there are other vehicles in the picture? I've read these cameras are vulnerable to mistakes.